The Lone Star State has 2,029 museums and 877 libraries, according the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences, and 5,680 Federal Firearm Licensees, which includes traditional gun stores, sporting goods and other stores that sale firearms such as WalMart, pawn shops and private or individual retailers.

Out of Texas' 254 counties, 61 have more museums and libraries (combined) than gun retailers, 23 have the same number and 160 have more gun retailers.

C.J. Grisham, president of Open Carry Texas, a Second Amendment advocacy group, said he is not surpised by the comparison, but that it is apples to oranges because gun retailers are private entities while museums and libraries are publicly funded.

"You don't really need three or four libraries in every town," he said. "But only one gun store in an area creates a monopoly. You need several options to keep competition high and prices low."

Grisham said if libraries weren't publicly funded, and people could make money by renting books, libraries would be maintained by private businesses.

"There are probably three or four times as many McDonalds as there are museums," he said.

According to the Washington Post, there are 35,000 active museums in the United States and 14,000 McDonalds.

Gloria Meraz, director of communications with the Texas Library Association, said libraries are part of the educational infrastructure of the state as well as a critical facet of the economic well-being of local communities.

"The overall numbers of those cultural institutions do not seem to be keeping pace with the growing population," she said.

Meraz said the number of libraries, as well as state funding, has remained stagnant during the past 10 years. She said the state provides about $12 to $14 million for libraries a year, making it "one of the states that delivers the least amount of state funding for public library services."

Libraries offer much more than book rentals, she said.

"We cannot have a modern, productive, ambitious workforce without the services libraries offer," she said. "Libraries are about everything from family literacy, to workforce development to support for small businesses."

Bexar County has 85 museums, 31 libraries and 212 gun retailers. Harris County, the largest in the state by population, has 195 museums, 74 libraries and 529 gun retailers. Travis County, the largest county to have more libraries and museums than gun retailers, has 115 museums, 32 libraries (147 combined) and 127 gun retailers. For all counties, check our database here or at the bottom of the page.

The figures used in this database were originally collected by the Washington Post.